The metaphor of the family in John 4:1-42.

Abstract:

The motivation of my research is the massive problem of physical and sexual abuse of women and children we experience in South Africa. This is unacceptable for a society like ours where the rights of every citizen are entrenched in the constitution. Therefore, I have focused on the metaphor of the family in the Fourth Gospel, and how they are employed at micro-, meso- or macro-level. J.G. van der Watt’s book, Family of the King. Dynamics of Metaphor in the Gospel of John (2000) forms the basis of my study. He has pointed out that the metaphor of the family is the constitutive and most essential imagery in the Gospel. The story of the Samaritan woman in John 4 fits somehow into the family history of the father and the son. The questions I am concerned with are: 'How does Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 fit into the network of imagery of the family in John's Gospel? What other imageries related to the imagery of the family, are also functioning in the story of the Samaritan woman and what significance does this encounter have in relation with the rest of the Gospel?
In chapter 1 the research premise is worked out. Elements featuring in this chapter are: the problem statement, general and specific objectives, aim of the study, motivation and methodology. Literary criticism, social-scientific criticism, rhetorical criticism and theological criticism together are used into an integrated and approach to interpret this pericope. When they are used interactively, a rich and responsible approach is available for dealing with belief, action and life in the world today.
In Chapter 2 the social-historical background of the Jewish and Roman family is discussed. Aspects like the meaning of family, family functions in the Jewish household and family and community solidarity were taking into consideration. The important role of cleanness and uncleanness in the Jewish family and the way they considered Samaritans as ‘menstuants from the cradle’ are underlined. Because John 4 is about the encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman, the origin of the Samaritans; their beliefs and traditions; and divorce in their community are important. The Samaritan education system; cleanness and uncleanness in their community and the place of a woman in the Samaritan family were also included in the discussion. At the end of this particular section the similarities and differences of the Jewish and Roman families were compared to be able to reconstruct and to obtain as much information as possible of the context of the Samaritan family.
Chapter 3 contains the discussion of the meaning and function of metaphors in general and specific in the Gospel of John. In this study I have looked at the definition of a metaphor, types of metaphors and imagery in the Fourth Gospel. John emphasizes in his gospel the divinity of Jesus and his relationship with God. The author is using human relational images to portray this relationship as well as Jesus, the divine’s relationship to the world and to other people. In the words of Van den Heever: ‘The metaphors in John are all embedded in contexts made up by other metaphorical expressions: descent/ascent, living in you/you in me, partaking of Me as food, walking in the light, etcetera. It means that the connoted micro-level metaphors must be understood macro-metaphorically.’ (1992:94). This forms the basis of the discussion of the metaphor of the family in John 4.
Chapter 4 is the focal point of the research and contains a detailed exegesis of John 4:1-42 in order to explain the functioning of the metaphor of the family on micro-level. The other metaphors that are linked with the metaphor of the family are also discussed, e.g. the metaphor of water and the significance of water in the Fourth Gospel as well as the metaphors of light and life. Because a family is about relationships, the family metaphors in John’s Gospel are about various relationships. It is in the first place about Jesus’ relationship with his Father, with the disciples and with the believers. In John 4 two other family relationships are portrayed: the Samaritan family and the Jewish family and they are in conflict with each other. Therefore, Jesus invites the Samaritan woman into a new family, namely the family of the Father. In this family she will have a special place and function. Other aspects of the Samaritan woman's relationships are also explored, e.g. her relationship with men, with the disciples and with men in the village. Jesus as a human being was also part of a family. The Gospel writers hesitated to say too much about it, but eventually we do know something about his family relationships.
In the last chapter of my research families in South Africa are discussed. How the Fourth Gospel and particularly the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman can help to build families in South Africa that respects women; a society that gives women their rightful places in that society.